Ghana News
‘Ghana’s Market Women Carry Economy on Their Backs’: Deputy Chief of Staff Launches Book on Social Justice for Local Traders
Ghana’s market women are not simply informal workers but the very backbone of the nation’s economy, Deputy Chief of Staff Nana Oye Bampoe Addo has declared, as she launched a landmark book examining the social justice implications of the disruptions they face daily.
Speaking at the launch of African Women Entrepreneurs in the Informal Economy: Social Justice Implications of Market Jolts in Ghana on Friday, 26 June 2026, Bampoe Addo delivered a stirring keynote address that wove together academic research, government policy, and the lived realities of millions of Ghanaian women traders.
They carry our economy on their backs
“Ghana’s market women are not just informal workers,” Bampoe Addo told the gathering of editors, contributors, policymakers, and civil society representatives. “They are the people who feed our nation. They are the people who clothe our children. They are the people who carry our economy on their backs, sometimes literally.”
The book, edited by Professors Ezenwayi Amaechi Ejiribe and Joseph Ofori-Dankwa, alongside Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey of the Centre for Social Justice, introduces the concept of “jolts” – significant disruptions and challenges that affect market women and their businesses.
These include economic shocks, environmental disasters, health crises, social injustices, and policy-related upheavals.
The scale of the informal economy
Bampoe Addo painted a stark statistical picture of the sector’s importance. According to the World Bank’s Ghana Economic Update 2023, approximately 80 per cent of Ghana’s workforce operates in the informal economy, representing over twelve million workers. The International Monetary Fund estimates the informal sector contributes roughly 58 per cent of Ghana’s GDP.
On gender, the figures are even more striking. The Ghana Statistical Service’s 2018 Living Standards Survey found that approximately 68.3 per cent of women in Ghana work in the informal sector. Women consistently outnumber men across trading activities in both urban and rural areas, and studies estimate they contribute about 40 per cent of informal sector output while receiving less than 10 per cent of formal financial services.
The Kumasi Central Market, the largest single market in West Africa, has over 10,000 stores and stalls with a daily footfall of approximately half a million people. Accra alone hosts dozens of major markets, including Makola, Agbogbloshie, Kaneshie, and Tema Station.
Timing ‘could not be better chosen’
Bampoe Addo noted that the book’s arrival coincides with a pivotal moment for Ghana’s market infrastructure. Parliament passed the 24-hour Economy Act on 14 March 2026 under President John Dramani Mahama’s vision, with modern commercial hubs being constructed in all 261 districts.
“You cannot run a 24-hour market in a building with failing plumbing, inadequate lighting, and no fire suppression systems,” she said. The government’s commitment to constructing modern markets and restructuring existing ones, she argued, “is not simply an infrastructure agenda. It is a social justice agenda.”
The Makola market controversy and social justice remedies
Bampoe Addo addressed the recent controversy surrounding the planned demolition and restructuring of the 31st December Makola Market A and B in Accra. In May 2026, more than 240 traders were affected, with some marching to Jubilee House to petition the President. The demolition was suspended following intervention by the Gender Minister and the First Lady.
As chair of a committee examining the concerns, Bampoe Addo outlined four key social justice remedies:
- Consultation: Market renovation requires “steady and transparent implementation” with market women included at every stage of planning, design, relocation, and reopening.
- Compensation: Drawing on the World Bank’s Operational Policy 4.12 on Involuntary Resettlement, she insisted that compensation must be “prompt, adequate, and should restore, or preferably improve, the livelihoods of those displaced.”
- Transitional support: Traders have outstanding loans, goods in transit, and customer relationships. “A relocation is not simply a change of address. It can mean the destruction of years of relationship-building and goodwill.”
- Access to justice: Traders with legitimate grievances must have access to timely justice, and governments must engage proactively to prevent disputes from reaching the courts.
‘A body of theory, evidence, and actionable recommendations’
Bampoe Addo congratulated the editors and contributors for producing “a thoughtful, timely, and courageous piece of academic and practical work” that gives Ghanaian institutions “a body of theory, evidence, and actionable recommendations that speaks directly to the lives of millions of Ghanaian women.”
The book, published by Palgrave Macmillan as part of its Studies of Entrepreneurship in Africa series, analyses the obstacles facing women traders in Ghanaian marketplaces and proposes policy recommendations to enhance economic development. Contributors include scholars, practitioners, and policymakers who offer evidence-informed strategies to reduce the impact of market jolts and promote greater economic opportunity and social equity.
‘Change minds, inform decisions, and improve lives’
Concluding her address, Bampoe Addo urged every policymaker, local government official, civil society organization, and development partner to read the book and act on it.
“May it do what the best books always do: change minds, inform decisions, and improve lives.”
The government has launched a major military-led operation to reclaim the Lafa water retention basin at Mallam, deploying the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces in a high-stakes effort to break the cycle of perennial flooding that has devastated communities in Mallam, Weija, Blue Lagoon, Dansoman and surrounding areas for years.
The intervention, which involves breaking up tonnes of compacted solid waste and dredging heavily silted sediment from the basin, comes nearly two months after torrential rains on June 29 triggered catastrophic flooding across the Greater Accra Region.
The exercise is being coordinated by the Post-Flood Mitigation Task Force, led by the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations, Mr Stan Xoese Dogbe.
“We are dealing with decades of deliberate dumping,” said Ing. Richard Kofi Amekor, Head of Drainage at the Ghana Hydrological Authority. “Solid waste, boulders and laterite have been tipped into this basin for years. The reservoir is so heavily silted that rainwater could not flow into it naturally, causing backflow that swamped Blue Lagoon, the Mallam-Gbawe corridor and parts of Dansoman.”
According to Ing. Amekor, the Lafa stream originates from Mallam-Gbawe Zero and passes through Santa Maria, Atieku, Pallas Town, Alhaji Tabora and McCarthy Hill before draining into the basin and eventually into the sea. But the obstruction of the basin turned the watercourse into a death trap during the June downpour.
The military engineers face an arduous task. Brigadier General Richard Kinney, Commander of the 14 Engineer Brigade, revealed that the waste had been capped with laterite over the years to create land for illegal sale and development, making excavation particularly difficult.
“Our immediate task is to loosen the compacted material before removal. To minimise traffic disruptions, all haulage of excavated debris will be undertaken at night to the designated landfill site at Nsawam,” Brig. Gen. Kinney stated. He added that the entire dredging and evacuation exercise is expected to take several months.
Beyond the dredging, officials are calling for a more permanent solution: the demolition of all illegal structures erected within the water retention area. Ing. Amekor noted that buildings constructed inside the basin have substantially reduced its storage capacity.
“Once the illegal structures are removed, the Hydrological Authority will work with the Weija-Gbawe Municipal Assembly to secure the banks and ensure continuous monitoring,” he said, warning that restoration of the basin will significantly reduce flooding impacts, though it may not eliminate flooding entirely due to the area’s topography and upstream runoff.
Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah, Director General of Joint Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces and Coordinator of the Flood Mitigation Works, confirmed that the Mallam operation is part of a wider, nationwide offensive. Similar dredging works are ongoing at Oyarifa, East Legon and the Kpeshie Lagoon, while work will begin next week around the Kpeshie-Laboma Beach enclave to reopen the channel linking the lagoon to the sea.
“Government has fulfilled its commitment by providing funding and equipment for this exercise, but we appeal to the private sector to support this nationwide initiative,” Brig. Gen. Okae-Yeboah said.
He stressed that military action alone would not solve Ghana’s flooding crisis without sustained public cooperation.
“Residents must stop dumping refuse into the basin and encroachers must vacate immediately. Only by protecting our waterways can we protect lives and property,” he admonished.
Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson is calling for a shift in Ghana’s economic relationship with China, arguing that the country needs investment in factories, technology and local industries rather than a trade structure dominated by the export of raw materials.
Forson made the case as Ghana and China opened the Fifth Session of the Ghana–China Joint Commission on Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation, where he urged both countries to embrace a new approach centred on value addition, industrial investment, technology transfer and job creation.
While China remains Ghana’s largest trading partner, Forson said the structure of that relationship must evolve to ensure more of the wealth generated from Ghanaian resources remains within the country.
“Ghana’s priority is to process more of what we produce and export more value-added goods, including processed cocoa, to China,” Forson said.
His message amounted to a broader call for investment that helps Ghana build its productive capacity at home.
“We are also seeking investments that build factories, transfer technology, support Ghanaian businesses, train our people and create sustainable jobs,” he added.
A trade relationship marked by imbalance
The call comes as trade between Ghana and China continues to grow. Bilateral trade reached a record $14.1 billion in 2025, representing a 19.3% increase from the previous year.
But the figures also highlight a longstanding imbalance. In 2024, China exported about $9.844 billion worth of goods to Ghana, compared with roughly $1.992 billion in Ghanaian exports to China.
China’s exports have included machinery, electrical equipment, textiles and steel, while Ghana’s exports have largely consisted of commodities such as crude oil, manganese ore and cocoa beans.
Forson’s argument is that Ghana must move further up the value chain — processing its own resources and agricultural products before they leave the country rather than importing higher-value finished goods.
For a country whose economy has long relied heavily on commodity exports, the push for domestic processing could also mean more opportunities for manufacturing and employment.
China opens its market — but can Ghana capitalize?
The renewed focus on industrialisation comes as China expands market access for African exporters. Beginning May 1, 2026, China extended zero-tariff treatment to products from 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, including Ghana.
The policy could create new opportunities for Ghanaian businesses, but expanded access alone may not solve the country’s trade imbalance if Ghana continues to export primarily unprocessed materials.
Forson’s remarks suggest Ghana is seeking to pair greater access to the Chinese market with investments that can strengthen domestic supply chains and help local companies produce more finished goods.
At the continental level, the challenge is similarly pronounced. Trade between China and Africa reached a record $348.05 billion in 2025, but Chinese exports substantially exceeded imports from African countries, leaving the continent with a significant trade deficit.
Ghana seeks investment beyond extraction
Chinese investment is already spread across several sectors of Ghana’s economy, including mining, energy, manufacturing and construction. But as Ghana pursues broader economic transformation, officials are increasingly stressing investments that bring technology, skills and long-term industrial capacity alongside capital.
Chinese Assistant Minister for Commerce Zhang Li acknowledged Ghana’s economic recovery and expressed China’s commitment to deepening cooperation, including through industrialisation and economic transformation.
For Forson, however, the message was clear: Ghana’s future trade strategy cannot simply be about selling more raw materials abroad.
It must also be about building the factories and industries capable of turning Ghanaian resources into higher-value products — and creating sustainable jobs in the process.
Ghana’s major news outlets on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, lead with a mix of high-stakes political drama, government interventions in the mining sector, and pressing economic developments. The headlines are dominated by the escalating legal battle between Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin and GoldBod CEO Sammy Gyamfi over extortion allegations, while President Mahama’s administration moves to rescue the struggling Adamus Resources mine and fends off scrutiny over GoldBod’s financial losses.
1. The Daily Banner
BaWumia Throws Weight Behind Afenyo-Markin
2. Spyder
Cash-Strapped House of Chiefs Grounds Justice
3. The Hawk
Buah Revokes Presidency Rescues Adamus / Paul Afoko Files for NPP Chairmanship
4. Daybreak
Bagbin to Admit Minority’s GoldBod Motion / NLA Staff Suspend Strike
5. The Business Analyst
GoldBod Rejects GH¢1bn Overdraft Allegation
6. The Daily Searchlight
I Believe In Afenyo-Markin! – Bawumia Affirms
7. Business & Financial Times
Mining Chamber Urges Shift from Local Content to Local Capability
8. Daily Post
NDC Formally Notifies Bagbin of James Agalga’s Appointment as Majority Leader
9. The Dispatch
Mahama Intervenes to Save Adamus Mine
10. The Chronicle
I’m Ready to Face OSP – Afenyo-Markin Sues Sammy Gyamfi
11. Daily Guide
Adamus Resources Welcomes Turnaround Plan
12. The Ghanaian Times
Cutting Waste Key to Economic Disaster Looms at Ashaiman
13. Daily Graphic
FDI Inflows Jump to $2.62bn After 2-Year Decline
Government Deploys Military to Mallam in High-Stakes Bid to End Perennial Flooding
‘We Need Factories’: Ato Forson Calls on China to Invest in Ghana’s Industrial Future
Top News Headlines from Ghanaian Newspapers: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
-
Ghana News2 hours ago‘We Need Factories’: Ato Forson Calls on China to Invest in Ghana’s Industrial Future
-
Ghana News2 hours agoGovernment Deploys Military to Mallam in High-Stakes Bid to End Perennial Flooding
-
Ghana News1 day agoTop Headlines from Ghanaian Newspapers: Monday, August 24, 2026
-
Ghana News1 day agoAmerican Expats in Ghana Get a Helping Hand to Vote in 2026 U.S. Midterm Elections
-
Africa Watch1 day agoThe West Africa Corridor’s Dirty Secret: Liberia’s Record Cocaine Bust Exposes State-Sanctioned Trafficking
-
Reels & Social Media Highlights1 day agoA Preacher, A GoFundMe, and A Viral Legend: Decoding Ghana’s Sunday Social Media Storm
-
Festivals & Events1 day agoDrums, Chiefs and Blessings: Inside Kwahu Tafo’s Gyenpren Festival
-
Festivals & Events18 hours agoAhoba Kuma Festival: How the Abura People Keep Their Warrior Legacy Alive